Nature Neuroscience · 1 October 2026 · From issue 45
Different functional connectivity gradients reflect aging and Alzheimer’s disease
Alzheimer's disease and normal aging change two separate brain communication pathways, not one shared pathway.
Jonathan Rittmo, Nicolai Franzmeier et al.
Brain regions send signals to each other along certain paths, like roads connecting city districts. Alzheimer's disease changes traffic on one major road, the one linking simple sensing areas to complex thinking areas. Normal aging changes a different road, one linking basic processing areas to planning and control areas. Scientists tracked both patterns in almost 1,100 people across two groups, and the two roads stayed separate from each other.
The combined size of two independent groups studied for brain connection changes.
Human brain scans only, no proof of cause and effect.
Integrity screen: passed (3 checks) Checked 6 October 2026. Retraction record: none. DOI resolves at doi.org. Metadata record found (Nature Neuroscience). Read the source
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